I Wished on a Falling Cherry Blossom
by Lady of the Thorn
Summary: Kakasaku. Because sometimes, dreams don't come true. It's Sakura's wedding day, and Kakashi is standing by the altar.
1. 1: The Wedding Day

Disclaimer: Yeah, like I actually own Kakashi. That's only in my dreams. sigh

A/N: Okay, this is my first attempt at writing Kakasaku. I'm been an avid fan for a while, reading lots and lots of it. It's my favorite pairing from Naruto (much like Aurikku, my favorite pairing from FFX). It was originally a one shot, but I'm pretty sure I'll add more. Because this is a bit angsty. Not in the dark depressing bloody way, but in the, hold-up-wait-a-minute-I-thought-this-was-a-Kakasaku type of way. Yeah… please don't kill me. I'll fix the havoc I've caused.

Somehow.

Eventually.

Thank God it's letting me log in again.

* * *

The day had finally arrived. It was the day every school girl dreamed of and every sane man dreaded. It was the day of a wedding.

Yet this was not just any wedding. This was going to be a grand wedding. This was a wedding day everyone had looked to with anticipation.

One man more than most.

Hatake Kakashi.

Hatake Kakashi, the great copy ninja, the scarecrow of Konoha village who was always behind schedule had not dared be late to this event. And as he waited at the head of the garden, in the front most part, in front of the priest, he felt a fluttering in his stomach. His mouth twitched into a nervous smile, but of course, it was hidden behind the trademark mask and headband, his one lazy eye giving him that 'I'm-always-stoned' look. He didn't look any different from how he normally did, except for the fact that he was in a tux, and standing up next to the altar, next to Naruto and to Sasuke.

Suddenly a murmur rustled through the crowd. She was here. The bride was here.

Haruno Sakura.

Soon to be an all-new Sakura. People smiled. The weak, simpering, slightly ditzy, lovesick young girl they had once known had grown into a beautiful and charming young woman. Not only that, but she had trained hard and long, completely deserving her ANBU status. Yes, long soft pink hair cascading past her shoulders, ending at about mid back. Wide green eyes, nervous but excited. She might have been that young girl no longer, but it was clear to everyone there that she was no less love-struck than when she had been when she was twelve. The veil covered her face; it was a thin white gauze like substance that did not hide much. In fact, its unsettled movements betrayed her anxiety. Everyone smiled.

Naruto whistled, seeing his former teammate walk down the aisle. It raised some eyebrows and caused a titter to course through the crowd. But it calmed Sakura somewhat, and the tenseness in her shoulders, in her walk, lessened, and she made it to the end of the aisle. She looked into the eyes of the man she was going to marry and her breath caught in her throat.

She was sure she could never be happier.

Kakashi looked at her eyes, and swallowed the lump in his throat as the priest began.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

Kakashi thought back to every moment he'd spent with Sakura, with his cherry blossom. He thought about the first time he'd met her, how her emotions had made her so easy to read, how her infatuation with the Uchiha standing beside him had been the center of her world. He remembered how he had simply held her after Sasuke had left. He had been the one she'd talked to through the lonely heartbroken nights when thoughts of Sasuke would not leave her head. He had been the one who'd comforted her, and in those long years of Sasuke's absence, somehow fallen in love with her as she became determined to become stronger, better, a medic nin that could defend herself if need be. He had been the one she chose to dance with at the party thrown for her by her friends when she first entered ANBU. He had been the first to receive her frantic hug when the news that Sasuke had come back was broken. And coming back into the present, staring into those big green eyes as the veil was lifted, he knew that some things did not change. She had lost naiveté; she had lost innocence. She was now an ex-student, no longer a genin in his charge. But she still had all the things that had made him realize he loved her, made him realize that he wanted her happiness above all else, even above his.

His eyes caressed her form, taking in her slim but curved body, tracing every line that made her a woman and every firm muscle that made her an elite shinobi. His eyes hungrily took in her face, her lips, her pink hair, and her green, green eyes. And he felt his heart twist in his chest.

The wind blew in his silver hair as the priest began the end of all things. Sakura was getting married to the man she loved.

Uchiha Sasuke

"Do you, Haruno Sakura, take Uchiha Sasuke to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Sakura stared into Sasuke's dark eyes and knew there was nobody else she could have spent her life with. Some things never changed, and her love for Sasuke had been one of those things.

"Yes, I do, with all the love in my heart"

Her eyes were shining and filled with love.

"Do you, Uchiha Sasuke, take Haruno Sakura to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

His dark eyes bore into hers and he could only thank the gods that she had been his savior, the bright pink light that had brought him out of his darkness. And though habits were hard to break, leading him to say what he did in his normally cool and slightly arrogant tone, the way he held her hand and pressed it to his chest, the way his eyes bore into hers told her everything she needed to know. He loved her in his own way.

"Yeah. I do."

The priest could barely be heard over the immense amount of noise the crowd made when the two kissed.

"Party!" yelled Naruto, dancing around wildly.

His cheer was followed by the rest of the wedding guests already heading to the reception. Sasuke turned to the two men who had been his best men. He had felt it necessary to have both of them there to share this moment with him. He looked over at Naruto and whispered quietly to Sakura, "He's still a dobe."

Sakura giggled, letting her head rest against her new husband's shoulder. "Yes," she whispered back. Her face held the glow only newlyweds had, though Sasuke's face held, as usual, no emotion at all. Yet the arm wrapped tightly around her waist begged to differ.

"Let's go, slowpokes!" yelled Naruto again. The three of them started to walk away, leaving their former sensei behind.

Sakura noticed and disentangled herself from two of her favorite men for a moment to go back to him.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Her eyes were filled with concern. "Are you coming?"

Kakashi mustered up a laugh that actually sounded somewhat sincere.

"Ah, Sakura, you overestimate an old man's strength. I'm actually quite tired and need to rest. I did just come back from a mission you know."

The two boys came back over as well.

"Aw, come on, sensei. We need you there too," said Naruto, looking up at him. Then he smirked. "Yeah, we never have enough old perverts around anyway."

Sasuke only nodded. But at Naruto's addition, he sighed, saying, "Dobe."

Kakashi looked at his three former students and felt his heart constrict again. They had all grown, all become strong shinobi, and all become fine men and women. Still, they retained some essence of their youth. He smiled and shook his head.

"No, I need my rest."

Sasuke saw something in their former team leader's eyes and nodded, dragging a loud and curious Naruto away.

This of course, left Sakura and Kakashi alone once more.

Sakura gazed at him with her green eyes again.

_I just want to take you into my arms and hold you and finally tell you how much I love you…_

His hand started to reach out.

_But that would ruin this day for you, and I could never do that to you, my Sakura._

_No, not mine. Never was._

"Sensei, I just wanted to thank you. For everything." Bashfully, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks, she continued, looking down at the ground. "You've always been there for me and… and…" At a loss for words, she simply reached out and hugged him.

Kakashi resisted the urge to run his fingers through that soft pink hair and instead held her close, in a hug that was nothing more than friendly, a gesture of gratitude and love, but only as a student to a well loved teacher, or even to a friend.

"You can simply call me Kakashi now, Sakura," he said softly. "You're no longer just a student."

She released him, smiling. "I know, but you'll always be sensei to me."

She could have no idea how those words tore wounds in his heart. She could have no idea that it had been like she had taken a shuriken and sliced open his arms, then taken kunai and stabbed him through the heart.

"I have a wedding present for you, Sakura," he said, softly again, for fear of his mouth accidentally saying something his heart wanted him to say.

She tilted her head to the side curiously. "What is it?"

There was that girlish sparkle in her eyes, waiting for her gift.

Silently, the masked ninja pushed up the headband, revealing the Sharingan and then slowly pulled down his mask, revealing his face wholly to her.

She made a little gasping noise, then shut her eyes and bowed.

"Thank you, sensei."

They stood there in silence a bit longer as Kakashi pulled his mask back up and covered his eye once more.

"Now run along. I'm sure your husband is waiting for you."

She laughed gleefully, and then turned, nodding. However, she stopped a few feet away, bent over, and then came running back to him.

"This is for you, Kakashi." She handed him a cherry blossom that had just fallen off the tree. Then she bounded away to enjoy her party, her big day, her husband.

Kakashi stared at the cherry blossom in his hand and whispered something softly into it before letting the wind carry it back down the path Sakura had taken. Then he went home. After all, what else could he do? She had her happiness.

At the party, things were wonderful, and while something was missing (mainly Team 7's former leader), Sakura enjoyed it immensely. Especially since Naruto had gotten drunk, and a shy but elated Hinata had been the one to help him home. Hinata would be good for Naruto, if he ever saw her. That night, as Sasuke took her into his arms and was about to carry her over the threshold of their new home, a cherry blossom landed in her lap. She placed it on the windowsill of the window in their bedroom as their first night together was a night full of discoveries for the both of them.

The next morning, Sakura woke up to find Sasuke sleeping peacefully next to her. She ruffled his hair a bit, but he did not stir. Wrapping one of the sheets around her naked form, she went to the window, hair slightly disheveled and hanging over her shoulder. It was then she saw the cherry blossom. It was also then when she remembered the night before.

"I love you…" she had heard a whisper in the night winds. At first she had thought it had come from Sasuke, but it really did sound like it had come from this one cherry blossom. It had intrigued her, which is why she'd set it on the windowsill. Of course, once she and Sasuke had started, the thoughts of the blossom had receded to the back of her mind.

However now, as she stared at it, she felt something well up in her chest, filling her like a balloon. She looked out upon Konoha.

A silver haired jounin reading on a roof not too far away saw a pink haired figure looking out over the village. She looked so beautiful in the soft morning light and he once more felt that tightening of the heart in his chest. He turned back to his Icha Icha Paradise, though he knew it could not satisfy him as he slowly, with all the appearance of nonchalance, turned away and started hopping from rooftop to rooftop, as his eyes never left his book and he refused to look back.

Sakura saw him hopping, and a sad smiled graced her face. She remembered all the things Kakashi had, and the balloon in her burst as she closed her eyes. There had been a moment, there had been a time, when Sasuke had returned, and she had given him a hug. It was frantic and rushed, but she'd held onto him with all her might because he had been the one who had always been there, who had helped her through everything. And it was in that moment she realized that she'd fallen in love with her sensei. Her _sensei_. She'd almost told him how she felt, but when she told him of Sasuke's return, he'd simply gone quiet and asked how she'd felt. She told him she was happy and the conversation ended there. It appeared to her that she was still nothing more than his student, and not wanting to embarrass herself, she allowed things to stay that way. The most she'd ever done was wish on a falling cherry blossom, letting the wind carry it away, that day when she'd realized she loved Kakashi.

_I wish that someday I will be his and he will be mine._

After Sasuke's return, Sakura and Kakashi grew apart. She'd gotten to know Sasuke once more and the fire was rekindled. And yet, almost up to the moment Sasuke had proposed, she might have dropped everything for a certain silver haired ninja. But she did not let him know, and he had not let her know. So they were both ignorant of what lay in each other's hearts.

"You're not just my sensei. You're my everything." She looked back to the man she had shared a bed with. With a melancholy chuckle, she corrected herself. "Well, you were." She sighed, letting the wind carry the blossom away again.

"I could have loved you once, if only maybe you'd wanted me to."

Sasuke cracked open an eye to look at his new bride. Silently, he got out of the bed and wrapped his arms around her, placing his chin on her shoulder and kissing her neck lightly.

"Good morning, Sakura," he mumbled sleepily, still somewhat groggy.

"Morning, Sasuke," she replied quietly.

Something in her tone made him perk up just the slightest. "What were you doing? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, smiling at the man who she'd chosen because he loved her and she loved him. Even if there had been a brief, well, not so brief span of time when she had loved someone else.

"No, Sasuke. Nothing's wrong." She looked out over Konoha again. "Just thinking about cherry blossoms and dreams."

She said again, quietly, in a whisper only she could hear.

"I made a wish on a cherry blossom. A cherry blossom dream. Cherry blossoms and dreams."

_They didn't come true, but I'm happy with what I have now._

"Come on, sleepyhead, I think we should eat some breakfast," she said brightly as she looked with love at her new future.

* * *

Well, reviews are loved and again, don't kill me. It's only the beginning after all, right? 

-Hajan Rana


	2. 2: A Cherry Blossom Dream

A/N: Hey… very _very_ short chapter two. A Kakashi POV chapter. I'm sort of lazy right now, so I won't really go into a big long a/n.

Disclaimer: Tcha, I don't own Kakashi or Sakura, or Naruto or anything else affiliated with the show. Not really. But I do have a Kakashi keychain! I got it for Christmas.

* * *

"Sensei?" 

The voice was plaintive, shaking.

Kakashi silently drew the soaking wet girl into an awkward embrace. He felt her shivering body against him and he felt the rain beating down.

"Let's go home, Sakura," he said softly

The girl nodded, taking his hand into hers, resting her head on his arm, right at his shoulder joint, seeing as he was still a head taller than she was, and she wasn't tall enough to place her head on his shoulder. Slowly they walked, together, back to Kakashi's apartment.

It was quiet as he led her to the bathroom, giving her a dark navy blue bathrobe.

"I don't want to, sensei," she said tiredly. Her eyes turned to him, something lost.

His voice was quiet but firm. "Sakura, if you don't get out of those wet clothes, you'll get pneumonia. You're a medic-nin. You should know that."

She gave a heavy sigh as she went in. Then he heard the water start to run. He went into his bedroom, changing out of his own damp clothes, taking off the mask, the pants, the shirt. He put on a pair of black pants loose enough to sleep in, but not enough to make too much noise. Still, as he hung the damp clothes over the back of a chair, the pants made just the slightest swishing sound. He still hadn't put on a shirt.

_Swish. Swish. Swish._

He decided to forgo the shirt for now, at least until he had finished setting up a place for Sakura to sleep in his bed. He fluffed up the pillows, pulling out some of the softest, warmest, blankets he owned. Not that he owned too many. Kakashi wasn't exactly the home décor type. But he surveyed the bed critically, wanting Sakura to be completely satisfied when she slept in it. As his eyes roved over the bed, they caught sight of one of his favorite "reading" materials peeking out from beneath a pillow. He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, picking it up and planning to put it away, lest it upset Sakura further. After all, she was always going on about "dirty old perverts" and "dirty old books" and dirty old everything. He sighed again as he put it away. However, right before he did, he "accidentally" started "reading".

_Pat. Pat. Pat._

Sakura's feet made a soft pat-patting sound as she walked toward Kakashi's room. She saw only his back. Her breathing had become steadier and now her voice was not so overwhelmed by sorrow. Softly, she said, "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi had just been "reading" the part about the character stepping out of the shower when he heard Sakura's voice. Putting the book away, he turned to her with all appearance of nonchalance. However, when he saw her there, he felt his heart skip a beat and the rest of his body start to come to attention.

The bathrobe was big for her. It reached the floor and trailed a little bit. Her hair was still damp. His gaze was caught by a single bead of water that slowly dripped from her hair, traveling down her skin. It traveled down her neck, slowly moving down her collarbone. He was mesmerized by it. All his concentration was on the one bead of water that kept going lower and lower and lower, sliding over the curve of her breast, into the hidden cleavage. This was when he silently cursed the bathrobe. He moved to the bed, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, resting his head on his arms.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on the bed as Sakura climbed in beside him. He looked at her, but said nothing.

She was blushing, and looking distant, as though there was something she wanted to say, but couldn't figure out how to say it. "Erm, Kakashi-sensei?" she said, in an even softer voice than before.

"Yes, Sakura?" he said lazily, his eye still roving over his ex-student's body. But still, he sat up just the tiniest bit, in the perfect position to hold her if she decided to come and lay her head on his chest.

Her eyes never left his, though her hands started to undo the cord that tied the bathrobe together. "Kakashi-sensei, I realized something out in the rain. I made a mistake. It's not Sasuke I love."

The bathrobe started to open, sliding down her shoulders.

Kakashi was too stunned to say or do anything, but he somehow maintained his composure.

"Kakashi-sensei, please, take me. Because I love you."

Her big green eyes were wide and innocent, but the form that was slowly revealing itself to him was not. She started crawling toward him, toward his open arms. He was soon holding a naked Sakura, whose lips were fast approaching his when…

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Kakashi woke up, sat straight up, promptly slamming his head into the shelf above his head. He swore loudly as he got up, putting on some semblance of clothing, along with the mask. So it was a very irritable silver haired pervert who answered the door, sticking out only his head.

"Yes?" he said with his normal indifference. Even though he wanted to kill the masked nin at his door.

"The Hokage requires your presence at her office in two hours."

The nin was suddenly gone and Kakashi sighed. He needed a shower. Rubbing the back of his head in consternation, he headed toward the bathroom, thoughts of pink still in his head. He had cherry blossom scented shampoo and cherry blossom scented body wash, and cherry blossom scented everything.

Maybe that's why all he ever dreamed of now were cherry blossoms.

All he ever had now were…

Cherry blossom dreams.

* * *

Like always, reviews, please and thank you. 

-Hajan Rana


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